It was late into the fourth morning of the "Leicester Expansion Project" when the railhead finally reached the outer perimeter of the city moat.
Yet, unlike previous Viking raids where berserkers would rush into the fray chewing their shields and screaming for Valhalla, the "Track-Laying Division" operated with the cold, rhythmic efficiency of a metronome.
The "Iron Gear" marksmen fired their bolts from the safety of the mobile barricades continuing to suppress the defending Saxon archers who stood terrified on the ramparts.
As for the force that rushed the final hundred yards of open ground to the gatehouse, it was the "Interns."
These were the conscripted levies from the Midlands—poorly trained and equipped with standardized Jernheim shovels and pickaxes.
Fearful of the "Performance Review" (execution) if they retreated, the Interns boldly charged the enemy garrison under the protective fire of the repeating crossbows.
